Az-Zukhruf: (71) They will be served with platters...

(They will be served, after their entry into Paradise, wherever they are commanded, with platters of gold and cups.)

As-Sahaf (platters) is the plural of sahfah. It is said to be like a large bowl (qas'ah). Others say it is the greatest of eating vessels: the jafnah (basin), then the qas'ah (bowl), then the sahfah (platter), then the kuliyah (small bowl). Al-Akwab (cups) is the plural of kub, which is a jug without a spout (‘awrah). This is the meaning of the statement of Mujahid: "It has no handle." It is, according to what is reported from Qatadah, different from an ewer (ibriq). He said: "It has reached us that its head is rounded." Since vessels for food are usually more numerous than vessels for drink, the first is a plural of multitude (jam' kathrah) and the second is a plural of paucity (jam' qillah).

Reports have been continuous regarding the abundance of these platters. Ibn al-Mubarak, Ibn Abi ad-Dunya, and at-Tabarani in al-Awsat—with a chain of narrators whose men are trustworthy—reported from Anas that he said: "I heard the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) say: 'Indeed, the lowest among the people of Paradise in rank will have ten thousand servants standing at his head. In the hand of each one will be two platters—one of gold and one of silver—in each of which will be a color not found in the other. He will eat from the end of it just as he eats from the beginning, finding in the end the same delight and pleasure he found in the beginning. Then it will be like the perspiration of pure musk. They will neither urinate, nor defecate, nor blow their noses, but will be brothers on thrones, facing one another.'"

In a report narrated by 'Ikrimah: "The lowest of the people of Paradise in station and the one with the lowest rank—no one will enter after him—will have his vision expanded to the distance of a year's journey in palaces of gold and tents of pearl. There will not be a handspan in them that is not occupied. He will be served every day and evening with seventy thousand platters; in each platter is a color not in the other. His desire for the last of it will be as his desire for the first. If all the people of the earth were to descend upon him, he would be heard, and they would be given from what he has been given without it decreasing anything from what he has been granted." Ibn Abi Shaybah reported this number from Ka'b as well. If this is for the lowest, what do you think is for the highest? May Allah grant us that which befits His generosity and grace.

As for the reading of Abu al-Harith from al-Kisa'i, as mentioned by Ibn Khalawayh: bi-sahafin (with platters). Wa fiha (And in it—i.e., in Paradise) ma tashtahihi al-anfus (is whatever the souls desire—of various delights) wa taladhdhu al-a'yun (and the eyes delight in—meaning, take pleasure in and are comforted by gazing upon).

The mention of this, which encompasses every pleasure and bliss, after mentioning the serving with gold vessels—which is only a part of the luxury and comfort—is a generalization after specification, just as the mention of the pleasure of the eye, which is the "spy" of the soul, after the desire of the soul, is a specification after generalization. Some eminent scholars said: "His saying, 'They will be served,' refers to foods, and 'cups' to drinks. It is not far-fetched to interpret His saying, 'And in it is whatever the souls desire,' as referring to marriage, clothing, and matters related to them, so that all psychological desires are perfected. Thus, the greatest pleasure remains: looking upon the Face of Allah, the Generous. He alluded to this by His saying, 'And the eyes delight in.' This is why the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said in what was reported by an-Nasa'i from Anas: 'Beloved to me from your world are perfume and women, and the coolness of my eyes has been placed in prayer.'"

Qays ibn Mulawwah said: "I intended to kill her out of love for her, So that she might be my adversary in the Gathering; So that our standing on the Path (Sirat) might be prolonged for me, And my eyes might delight in the delicious sight."

This aligns with the saying of Imam Ja'far as-Sadiq (may Allah be pleased with him): "There is a vast difference between what the souls desire and what the eyes delight in. For all the bliss and desires in Paradise are, compared to what the eyes delight in, like a finger dipped into the ocean. This is because the desires of Paradise have a limit and an end, for they are created. No eye in the eternal abode finds delight except in gazing upon the Everlasting (Exalted and Majestic), and there is no limit to that, no description, and no end."

It is known from what has been mentioned that the meaning is to consider: "And in it is what the eyes delight in." Upon this, az-Zamakhshari based his statement: "This is a restriction of types of blessings: either desired by the hearts or enjoyed by the eyes." In al-Kashf, he was critiqued: "There is a perspective in this, for it is refuted by the pleasures of the other five senses." If it is said: "They are from the first category," we respond: "The pleasure of the eye is likewise." Therefore, the face of the matter is that he mentioned it to exalt the bliss, as it is something in which the heart and the eye concur, which is the ultimate for them in what is beloved, for the eye is the vanguard of the heart. This is a statement that there is no other implied mawsul (relative pronoun) in the second clause; rather, it and the clause before it are two silahs (connecting clauses) for one mawsul, which is the one mentioned. What preceded is what the words of the majority necessitate. The omission of the mawsul is common in this. There is no hindrance to including gazing upon the Face of Allah, the Generous, in what the eyes delight in, according to what we mentioned first. The "al" (the) in al-anfus and al-a'yun is for generic inclusion, according to what is said, and there is no difference between the plural of paucity and the plural of multitude. Perhaps he who says that the inclusion of the singular is more comprehensive than the inclusion of the plural, and distinguishes between the two plurals in beginning and end, says that the inclusion of the plural of paucity is more comprehensive than the inclusion of the plural of multitude. It is said: it is for the covenant (al-'ahd), and it is said: it is a substitute for the genitive, i.e., "what their souls desire and their eyes delight in." The plural of nafs and basirah (eye/vision) as af'ul in their speech is more common than any other; in fact, the plural of basirah in the Holy Quran is only in that form. How fitting is this plural here for the place of "the voids/spaces." Taking "what the souls desire" to mean marriage, clothing, and what relates to them is contrary to the apparent meaning.

In the reports, there is also what is apparent in its generality. Ibn Abi Shaybah, at-Tirmidhi, and Ibn Mardawayh reported from Buraydah that he said: "A man came to the Prophet (ﷺ) and said: 'Is there a horse in Paradise? For I like them.' He said: 'If you are admitted to Paradise, you will be brought a horse of red jacinth that will fly with you in Paradise wherever you wish.' Another man said to him: 'I like camels. Is there any in Paradise?' He said: 'O servant of Allah, if you are admitted to Paradise, you will have in it whatever your soul desires and your eye delights in.'" He also reported the like of it from 'Abd ar-Rahman ibn Sabit and said: "It is more authentic than the first." The like of it has also come in other narrations, so it is not harmed by what is said about the weakness of its chain. It is not an objection to the generality that sodomy, for example, does not exist in Paradise, because that which is not fit to be in it is not desired; indeed, it is said specifically regarding sodomy that sound souls do not desire it even in the world.

People differed as to whether there will be children in Paradise or not. Some went to the former. Imam Ahmad, Hannad, ad-Darimi, 'Abd ibn Humayd, Ibn Majah, Ibn Hibban, at-Tirmidhi (who classified it as hasan), Ibn al-Mundhir, and al-Bayhaqi in al-Ba'th reported from Abu Sa'id al-Khudri that he said: "We said: 'O Messenger of Allah, the child is a coolness of the eye and a perfection of joy. Will the people of Paradise have children?' He said (peace and blessings be upon him): 'Indeed, when a believer desires a child in Paradise, the pregnancy, delivery, and age will be in an hour, just as he desires.'"

Tawus, Ibrahim an-Nakha'i, Mujahid, 'Ata', and Ishaq ibn Ibrahim went to the second. It is reported from Abu Razin al-'Uqayli from the Prophet (ﷺ) that he said: "The people of Paradise will not have children." In the long hadith of Laqit—which was reported by 'Abdullah ibn al-Imam Ahmad, Abu Bakr ibn 'Amr, Abu Ahmad Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn Ibrahim, at-Tabarani, Ibn Hibban, Muhammad ibn Ishaq, Ibn Mandah, Ibn Mardawayh, Abu Nu'aym, and a group of the huffaz (memorisers), and which the Imams received with acceptance—Ibn Mandah said: "No one denies this hadith except a denier, an ignorant person, or one who opposes the Book and the Sunnah." It says: "I said: 'O Messenger of Allah, will we have spouses in it (i.e., Paradise)? Or will there be righteous ones among them?' He said: 'The righteous are for the righteous. You will enjoy them and they will enjoy you like your enjoyments in the world, except that there is no procreation.'"

Mujahid and 'Ata' said regarding His saying: "And for them therein are purified spouses," i.e., purified from childbearing, menstruation, feces, urine, and the like. Ishaq ibn Ibrahim said regarding the hadith of Abu Sa'id mentioned previously: "It is on the meaning that if the believer desires a child in Paradise, the pregnancy, birth, and age will occur in an hour as he desires, but he will not desire it." This was critiqued by saying that "if" (idha) is for something whose occurrence is certain, and if what was mentioned was intended, it would have been said "if" (law—denoting impossibility/hypothetical). In Hadi al-Arwah, the chain of the hadith of Abu Sa'id is on the conditions of the Sahih, for its narrators are those whose authority is used, but it is very gharib (strange).

As-Sufarini said in al-Buhur az-Zakhirah: "The hadith of Abu Sa'id has the best chains; it is the chain of at-Tirmidhi, yet he judged it as gharib and that it is not known except through the hadith of Abu as-Siddiq an-Naji. Its wording is disturbed; sometimes it is narrated from him as 'if he desires a child,' sometimes 'he desires a child,' and sometimes 'a man will have a child born to him.' Idha is sometimes used merely for conditioning, which is more general than the certain and the non-certain."

I choose the opinion of procreation as the hadith of Abu Sa'id states. Regarding it, Ustadh Abu Sahl said, as transmitted by al-Hakim: "No one denies it except the people of deviance." It has more than one chain. Childbearing will not be in the manner known in the world; rather, it will be as the hadith states. Whenever it is so, its formation from a breeze that emerges at the time of intercourse is not far-fetched. The claim that a child is only created from semen, and since there is no semen in Paradise as stated in reports, there is no creation, is an attempt to incapacitate Divine Power. This does not contradict what is in the hadith of Laqit, because the intent there is the negation of procreation known in the world, as indicated by the occurrence of "except that there is no procreation" after his saying (peace be upon him): "Like your enjoyments in the world." The same is said regarding the hadith of Abu Razin to reconcile the reports.

Moreover, procreation is not by way of continuity; rather, it is dependent on desire, and its continuity is not required. The statement that if it were continuous, it would necessitate the existence of people without end, and if it ceased, it would necessitate the cessation of a type of pleasure of the people of Paradise, is nothing. What is said—that it is proven in the Sahih that he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "There will remain in Paradise [room], so Allah will create for it a creation and inhabit them in it"—if there were procreation in Paradise, the preference would be for their children... this necessity is forbidden, because it could be said that he who desires a child desires that he be with him in his abode. The statement that procreation in the world is for the wisdom of the species, and it remains in Paradise without procreation, so it would be in vain, is countered by: "What prevents it from being there for pleasure and the like, as eating and drinking in the world are for one thing and in Paradise for another?" In sum, what was mentioned to prioritize the absence of procreation is a matter whose state is not hidden to one who possesses a reasonable mind.

Many among the seven and others recited ma tashtahihi al-anfus wa taladhdhu al-a'yun with the omission of the pronoun returning to ma from the two conjoined clauses. In the codex of 'Abdullah, it is ma tashtahihi al-anfus wa taladhdhu al-a'yun with the pronoun in both. The recitation in the first without the second is that of Abu Ja'far, Shaybah, Nafi', Ibn 'Amir, and Hafs.

Wa antum fiha (And you in it—i.e., in Paradise; it is also said: in the delights understood from what preceded) khalidun (71) (remaining for eternity, forever). The sentence is within the scope of the address and is like an affirmation of His saying: "No fear upon you." They were called with this to complete the blessing and perfect the joy, for every fleeting blessing necessitates the burden of guarding and the fear of cessation, and is followed by regret in the second state. To Allah (Exalted be He) is the reply of the speaker: "And if you look, then a fleeting misery for a person is better than a fleeting blessing."

It is reported from an-Nasrabadi that if their eternity is for the desire of the souls and the delight of the eyes, then annihilation is better than that. But if it is for the annihilation of the attributes and the assuming of the attributes of the Truth, and staying in that state upon the thrones of satisfaction and witnessing, then "You are who you are." You know that what he mentioned enters into the generality of what preceded as a primary entry. Some mentioned here that the address here is of the category of iltifat (shift in person) and that it is for honor. At-Tayyibi said: "Taste with your upright nature the meaning of the address and the iltifat." The prepositional phrase was advanced in wa antum khalidun (And you are eternal) so that you might stand upon what description cannot encompass.